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Originally Posted by ezmaass
Manual transmissions are doomed. It's a technology of yesteryear. For technology to live on, it typically needs to have some tangible benefit aside from nostalgia. When modern automatics are faster, more efficient, and more effective at their goal, it's a hard argument to keep manuals around.
Yes, it's engaging to drive a manual - you're working harder to drive the car, and hence that feels somehow psychologically more engaging. But try convincing a Formula 1 driver that paddles can't be engaging, fun, or useful. Taking a hand off the wheel to shift gears seems all but primitive today... and at great speed, downright dangerous. Is it no surprise then that you can't buy a Ferrari today with a manual either?
This article makes it sound as if BMW stands alone - they don't. Many of the world's leading brands have kept manuals around for the die-hard fans, but that fan-base is shrinking. Most drivers in their 20's and 30's today haven't even driven a manual. And that statistic will continue to be emphasized as time goes on. No different than generations growing up today who don't know a rotary telephone or crank windows!
Some people just don't like change. Taking away their ability to row gears may be akin to chopping off a leg... driving won't be "natural" to them any longer. But that's life. How many times throughout history have we heard arguments in the auto industry about obsolete technology and why things just won't ever be the same any longer? Too many to count. Granted, the MT is a staple of sports cars, but the stats in orders don't lie... even with the M3, the majority of orders were for DCTs.
I won't mourn the death of the MT. It'll have its place in our automotive history, but I'd much prefer a more effective, faster, and efficient technology that carries the industry forward versus looking backwards at how things were. For some that'll be harder to give up.
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F1 drivers have two clutch paddles along with two shift paddles on the steering wheel. They need top precalibrate the clutch before launching. They also need to operate the clutch whenever they are accelerating from a stop. So there is still clutch operation albeit from a wheel.